CORNERED

There he stood, in a corner of the street

The harsh ball of fire scalding his bare skin

His eager eyes on the lookout

Maybe, the schoolgirl with a happy trot...

Maybe, the couple across the street cooing sweet nothings.

Wouldn’t a frosty bite be just perfect now?

A perfect ploy to beat the heat!

Chocolate, butterscotch, strawberry... anything you want.

But they do not stop

The school girl, the happy couple head to a cheerful place

Where air-conditioners are on full blast

The flavours are on display

Little plastic spoons

Piling in the garbage, slowly but surely

Yet they are joyful

An “informed choice” has been made you see.

The man in corner goes back home, trudging along his cart.

His ice candies melting away like his spirit.

Yet the light does not go out from his eyes.

Tomorrow will be a new day.

Flavours

They came in a fish net still alive gasping for breath.

On a rain swept dawn, gills working overtime

A battle in vain.

Hoping to unite in some other life, two lifeless bodies lie alongside.

The elated fishmonger cries hoarse about his fresh stock.

Somewhere close a mangy dog and a well fed cat engage in conversation

About Life perhaps!

Close to the market a wife gets busy, grinding spices to cook the fresh fish

The simmering curry a perfect blend of flavours, much like life at its best.

A satisfying meal, a burp in appreciation.

Yes, all is right. Today will be a good day.

The coy smile of the young wife

The odours of fish languish in the air.....

The Arrival

The dried earth waited in anticipation,

Day after day, waiting with bated breath.

Parched and tired it looked heavenwards

Pleading for mercy, seeking peace...

In silent prayer, sometimes in angry repartee.

And then one day, the heavens smiled.

Stitching together its broken clouds.

The skies turned grey.

The first drops of rain quenching the thirst of the mother

Who held her new born in her arms and cried.

A new beginning on a rain washed day.

A fresh start on an earth purged of its sins.